How to Repair or Replace Your Laptop LCD Screen

Laptop screens are typically composed of the same materials used in LCD screens. If your screen becomes cracked you have no choice but to replace it. This can be a costly repair if you hire a professional to do it. Fortunately you don't have to. To replace a laptop screen all you have to do is follow this guide "How to replace a laptop screen".

Laptop screens are rather simple devices and can easily be replaced. You can find many dealers selling small LCD replacements for these screens, and once you have the part you can replace it yourself, for half the cost of having a technician do it for you. The only thing you need to replace your laptop screen is a jewelers screwdriver set.

Since your reading this I'm assuming you don't have a manufacture warranty, because if you did you would have returned the laptop and had it repaired already. So do not be surprised that this project entails taking your screen apart.

The first thing you need to do is identify your brand of laptop. For instance the one I'm using now is a "Gateway MX6445", I know this because it's labeled on the back, rather handy isn't it. Now that you know what brand and model your laptop is. "Google" your laptop brand to find out the exact size of your screen, and if it's wide screen, or standard 4:3 ratio.

Now that you know what size your screen is with the specifications you can use "Google" again to search for your screen. Finding a dealer can be tricky, but if you can't find one you can contact the manufacture, and ask how much it will cost to buy one from them... Though most will not sell the part without labor for install.

Now that your screen has been ordered depending on the amount of damage to your current screen, you may be able to boot into windows, and temporarily use an external monitor while you wait. To do this turn the computer on, and check how much of the screen you can see. You will notice that nearly all laptops have a video output port on the side to go straight to a VGA monitor.

If you can see at least one corner of the screen once windows loads you can plug an external monitor into that port, then enable it. To enable the external monitor, right click on the desktop, then click properties, now click on the "Settings" tab. You should see two monitor images represented in the top part of this panel, right click on the grayed out one and click "Connected", then click on "primary display". Now you should see your desktop on the external monitor.

Once your new screen arrives you will need to use that jewelers screwdriver set I mentioned earlier, you are going to need a skinny slots screw driver. There should be a bezel around the front of your display. Take the screw driver and pry out on the plastic bezel, not too hard so as not to break it.

The bezel is usually only clipped in with plastic clips. These clips will release under the proper applied pressure. Once you have the bezel off, simply pull the display out and disconnect one ribbon on the back of it and 2 wires from the bottom. These 2 wires are your back light power wires, and the ribbon is your VGA cable, in a slim ribbon format. Reconnect these to your new laptop screen and push the bezel back together and your laptop repair is finished.

Congratulations on another job well done.